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Case Reports
. 2021 Apr 21;15(4):e01456.
doi: 10.1213/XAA.0000000000001456.

Sympathetic Blockade for the Management of Refractory Ventricular Tachycardia: A Case Report

Kavin Bains  1 , David Janfaza  1 , Devon Flaherty  1 , Jose Zeballos  1 , Ahmad Halawa  2 , Usha Tedrow  2 , Kamen Vlassakov  1
Affiliations
Case Reports

Sympathetic Blockade for the Management of Refractory Ventricular Tachycardia: A Case Report

Kavin Bains et al. A A Pract. .

Abstract

A 64-year-old man with a history of nonischemic cardiomyopathy (NICM) presented with electrical storm (ES). Episodes of ventricular tachycardia (VT) persisted despite endocardial catheter ablations and exhaustive pharmacotherapy. We used alternating regional anesthesia techniques, left stellate ganglion block, and proximal intercostal block to reduce sympathetic input to the heart, resulting in a significant decrease in VT burden. By using alternating catheter locations, we were able to maintain continuous sympathetic blockade for 31 days and bridge the patient to a successful orthotopic heart transplant.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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